February 2023 — Mugar Update
(more…)Blog
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Public Land Management Plan, 2023-2026
The Town of Arlington, through the Department of Planning and Community Development (DPCD), issued the Public Land Management Plan (PLMP) in January 2023. The project goal was to create a management plan for Town-owned open space, recreational land, and other natural resources in line with other Town plans. The plan was funded through a Community Preservation Act grant. The landscape architecture firm KZLA produced the plan in collaboration with the Public Land Management Working Group made up of representatives of Town departments and committees.
The PLMP details a structure for maintaining and managing relevant lands, provides analysis of the policies that govern the lands in question, and advises on the treatment of such lands, including recommendations of best practices. This first edition of the plan includes large public lands, small conservation parcels, parks and fields, and monuments, open spaces, and gardens. Future editions will add concerns like playgrounds, courts, and specific sports fields concerns. The PLMP will be revisited in 2025 and other updates and additions will be scheduled every three years.
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Open Space and Recreation Plan, 2022-2029
The Arlington Open Space Committee and the Department of Planning and Community Development are pleased to announce that the recently updated Open Space and Recreation Plan (OSRP) is now available on the Town website. The OSRP is a foundational document for all Town-wide planning and programs relating to parks, playgrounds, playing fields, natural resources, conservation land, sustainable development, climate resiliency, and other open space issues.
The planning process for developing for this most recent OSRP began in 2020, when the Open Space Committee received a grant from the Community Preservation Act Committee to hire a consultant, Horsley Witten Group, to help update the prior 2015 plan. The committee and consultants partnered with many Town departments, commissions, and organizations to obtain community input on open space and recreation goals and objectives. Two public forums were held, in June and December 2021, and an online public survey solicited responses from more than 1,000 residents. Information from all these sources, combined other research on the Town’s open space and recreation resources, contributed to the final plan. The OSRP received final approval from the Massachusetts Division of Conservation Services in November 2022 and is in effect until July 2029.
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2022 Annual Meeting, January 23, 2023
January 2023 – News Brief
The Board of Directors of the Arlington Land Trust invites you to join the 2022 Annual Meeting via Zoom on Monday, January 23, at 7 pm. We will elect Board members, hear a brief Treasurer’s report, and provide updates on the Mugar property and other local conservation projects.
Our guest speaker this year is David Morgan, Arlington’s Environmental Planner and Conservation Agent. David joined the Department of Planning and Community Development in Fall 2021 and has worked closely with the Conservation Commission, Open Space Committee, and other town groups on land use issues. He is also the liaison with the Land Trust for oversight of the conservation restriction on the parks and woods at Arlington 360, the former Symmes property.
David Morgan previously worked as an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Research Fellow for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where he investigated ecosystem-based climate change adaptation and policy, focusing on New England’s wetlands and coastal ecosystems. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Hampshire College in Amherst and his Master’s degree in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University.
At the Land Trust meeting, David will describe the Urban Ecology Framework he is coordinating with Tufts graduate students. This project will chart the Town’s progress on identified goals for ecological land management and set a timeline for accomplishing them. Researchers will identify gaps in current plans and suggest best practices. New information will be added to planning efforts in the form of a landscape ecological analysis using GIS to map the ecological integrity of existing lands and likely habitat patches and corridors. The Framework will guide further planning efforts, such as a biodiversity action plan.
Please save the date and join the meeting using the link below.
All are welcome to attend the meeting. Anyone who has made a general membership payment and/or contributed to an ALT special fund during the past year is considered a member and is eligible to vote. If you have not done so already, please renew your membership or make a contribution here.
Thank you. We look forward to seeing you via Zoom on January 23.You can contact the Land Trust at info@arlingtonlandtrust.org.
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2022 Program – Urban Ecology Framework
David Morgan, Arlington’s Environmental Planner and Conservation Agent, was the guest speaker at the 2022 Annual Meeting, held via Zoom on January 23, 2023. He described the Urban Ecology Framework he is coordinating with Tufts graduate students to chart the Town’s progress on identified goals for ecological land management and set a timeline for accomplishing them. He has provided a summary of the project, including maps and contact information.